Ankle pants, which can be worn on the ankle bone or up to four inches above it, are the biggest trend in bottoms. From straight leg silhouettes and slouchy track pants, to cuffed and pleated looks and tight skinnies. Some hem widths are a little wider than a tapered tailored fit. 

Black ankle pants are popular with my clients, especially in business casual settings, because they’re warmer, less formal and more practical than skirts. They also feel more warm weather appropriate than full-length black pants, and are quite versatile. Some of my clients have gone further to add ankle pants in colours and patterns. 

Which style of shoe to pair with black ankle pants is a common question. Personally, I like black ankle pants best when they are paired with shoes that have black ankle straps, because the self-colour strap extends the length of the trousers and elongates the leg line. To my eye that makes the leg shortening ankle pant more flattering. It also makes the length look more fashionably intentional. The photos illustrate how black d’Orsay ankle strap pumps and sandals visually lengthen the leg line on an assortment of black ankle pants.

Wearing heeled black ankle strap pumps and sandals is not your only option. Create a similar visual effect with flats, almost black shoes, and more covered black shoes with black ankle straps. For example, choose an ankle strap flat in a dark grey pattern, a non-black shoe with a black ankle strap, black pumps with ankle straps, cage heels or cut-out booties.

This trick can make it much easier to create flattering proportions with ankle pants. Forum member Diane recently put this concept into action. I put it into action last year by pairing my pants with animal print pumps with black ankle straps. If you’re new to ankle pants, give it a bash.

Stacy London lands a new gig, more store openings for Uniqlo, the relaunch of the Charles James label, and other news from the fashion trenches this week.

• With a new CEO at the helm, Lela Rose is reportedly branching out into jewellery, shoes and handbags.
• On Monday morning First Lady Michelle Obama cut the ribbon for the opening of The Met’s Anna Wintour Costume Center.
• What do you think of this peek inside this year’s Met Ball, filmed by designer Cynthia Rowley with a hidden camera?
• Movie mogul Harvey Weinstein confirms the relaunch of the Charles James label. His wife Georgina Chapman, designer and co-founder of Marchesa, has been appointed as creative consultant.
• Kinfolk Magazine is branching out into fashion with Ouur, a clothing and homewares collection made from textiles such as linen, cotton and wool.
• Stacy London becomes the face of beauty solution company Hollywood Fashion Secrets, where she’ll share tips and tricks “to help solve pesky styling challenges”.
• Over the next year Uniqlo plans to open six stores in Boston and three in Philadelphia. 

Fun Fashion Fact

Did you know that French designer Pierre Cardin owns the famous Maxim’s chain of restaurants? He bought the Paris restaurant in 1981, and soon after opened branches in New York (closed in 2000), London and Beijing. Three floors of the Paris building are now occupied by an art nouveau museum with more than 550 pieces from all over the world.

I usually dedicate my annual Mother’s Day post to my late Mum because she shaped and continues to inspire my style more than anyone else. This year I’m including two additional incredible Mums. My Oma, who was my Mum’s Mother. And Greg’s delightful Mum, Tuppy. 

I didn’t have the pleasure of knowing my Oma for long because she died when I was nine years old. But thankfully I have vivid memories of us together that I cherish. I turned out very blonde and pale, but my Oma on my Mother’s side was Indonesian. This photo is the only one I have of the three of us together. It was taken on my second birthday in 1972, in Hong Kong in our Mid-Levels home on Conduit Road. Oma also lived in Hong Kong for a while, and apparently I spent a lot of time at her apartment. Oma had just been very ill, so she’s not looking her best. But she’s smiling and happy, and so was Mama. She’s wearing batik, which she did quite often as a nod to her Indonesian heritage. 

Oma was born and bred in Jakarta, Indonesia. That’s where she had three kids with my Dutch Grandfather, who I called Opa. Mama was the only child who survived the war, which strengthened the bond between her and Oma.

Oma was a professional seamstress and made clothes for clients in the ‘30s and ‘40s. Her favourite colour was a bright happy yellow and everyone knew it. She often wore yellow, and was gifted with items that were yellow. Her home was full of yellow things, and at one stage I think she drove a yellow Citroen car. If you wanted to see her face light up, all you had to do was give her yellow flowers. 

Mama didn’t have Oma’s fondness of yellow. As a lover of earth tones, she preferred mustard as her yellow, which she wore to our wedding with a brocade jacket and lots of gold jewellery. Mama looked fab in mustard, and enjoyed wearing it with shades of rust and brown. I, on the other hand, love bright yellow. I especially love citron which is a slightly greener version of bright yellow. And my favourite flowers are big fat yellow roses or tulips. I guess the yellow-loving-gene skipped a generation.

Greg’s Mum Tuppy is South African and one of my favourite people on the planet. In all the time I have known Tuppy her favourite colour has been yellow. Just like my Oma, Tuppy loves to wear yellow, has owned yellow cars, and is instantly drawn to yellow things. People know this about Tuppy, and she also receives fun yellow gifts.

The photo here is of Tuppy holding Greg in about 1970. Greg is wearing a yellow jumper she knitted for him. I adore this lovable photo of mother and son. 

Oma and Tuppy share more than a favourite colour. Like Oma, Tuppy is an extremely strong, capable and likable Capricorn. I suspect that if Oma had lived long enough for me to get to know her, we would have had a great relationship. The bond that I lost with Oma, I gained with my Mum in Law. Tuppy is my role model. A person of incredible integrity and character. A shy spirit with lots of spunk, patience and a delicious dry sense of humour. She’s book smart, but also street smart. Lots of fun, but also has impeccable manners. I’m blessed to have her in my life and always enjoy our time together. 

The photo below of Oma with her poodle pups Bijoux and Cherie was taken in the early ‘60s, and was the only one that Mama kept out for show. It was in every house as I grew up, and graced Mama’s bedside table when I left home. I once asked Mama why she chose this photo above the others. Apparently Oma’s poodles made her insanely happy, and this photo was the start of a much better time in Oma’s life. 

A strong affection for dogs is another thing that runs in our family, and unlike yellow, it did not skip a generation. We used to joke that Mama loved her dogs more than her kids, which of course wasn’t true. But I will say that dogs have enjoyed and will continue to enjoy a royal status in our households. The photo above was taken in 2000, a few days after we brought nine-week-old Jasmine and Rosie to our home in Johannesburg. They were a 30th birthday gift from Greg, and a way for me to cope with the loss of my Mama a few months before that. That’s why I called these precious pups my little angels from heaven. They were my therapy and incomparable creatures. I’m smiling at Mama, Oma and our girls on their big fluffy cloud in the sky, remembering them with a happy and heavy heart. 

I’m ending this tribute with a photo of Mama in the early ‘60s. She regularly competed in flower arranging competitions, was an avid gardener, and took great pride in being part of the Flower Club. She probably loved flowers even more than fashion and style, and throughout my life our home was adorned with flowers. I would come from school and regularly find a small bouquet on my desk — just because. Retro fashion, dogs, antique pink roses, batik, Hong Kong, Asian food and Asian furniture make me think so strongly of my precious Mama. I’m grateful to have these memories as a way of keeping her spirit alive in me.

We at YLF wish you a happy Mother’s Day. 

T Magazine reviews Bare, a new fashion and culture magazine “without gloss” and no photo retouching. The first issue contains a literary fiction feature about bad hair days, “essays and conversations about creative people’s work processes and a bathing-suit editorial accompanied by an excerpt from John Cheever’s short story ‘The Swimmer’.”

In “New Kids on the Magazine Rack“, the New York Times shares seven indie fashion magazines “on the cutting edge of print”.

I’m very much enjoying the new BoF series “Special Briefing on Fashion Media Game Changers”. Have a look at the two first instalments: Building Vogue China and Rebooting Elle. 

Fab Links from Our Members

Via Jennifer at The Daily Connoisseur, Ginkgo discovered The Lost Art of Dress by Linda Przybyszewski. She is tremendously enjoying this history of American dress and its downfall over the last half-century.

BethL came across Everpurse, a Kickstarter project for a small clutch that charges an iPhone. She adds that the video with people’s reactions to the “charging now” beep is kind of a riot.

MaryK is enamoured with these Charles James dresses, and found the article about how modern science is discovering how the designer made them so fab very interesting. She now wants to go to the Met and check out the exhibit for herself. Be sure to watch the video as well.

Angie recommends Sally’s post “Loving What You Hate“, as her body image posts are always food for thought, and a good read.

La Belle Demimondaine finds this multi-part series on how to assess the quality of a garment very helpful, particularly with regards to seams — something she never thinks to look at.

Dutch artist A. Boogert created an 800 page guidebook for painters explaining how to mix watercolours to create different hues and tones by adding water. HiggsMistress thinks it’s amazing that this was created in 1692, 271 years before the Pantone colour guides were published. Since there was only one copy ever made, the entire book is viewable online.

In this Wall Street Journal article, model Liu Wen makes menswear look very appealing. Joy loved the simple, dramatic lines and shapes.

Be Fabulous Daily, one of E’s favourite style bloggers is doing a project to see how small her wardrobe can be and still make her happy by creating 15 perfect outfits. This post outlines her strategy and rationale and includes directions for any readers who want to try it out themselves.

Laurinda enjoyed this blog post by marketeer Seth Godin who asks: Is digital the end of luxury brands? He explains why luxury goods are not likely to go on sale — People pay extra partly for the privilege of paying extra — and suggests that people today are more interested in connecting to their networks than in their stuff.